The Blackhawks made a splash on the trade market last summer when they acquired top-six winger Taylor Hall from the Bruins, but an ACL injury derailed his campaign and shut him down in November.
Hall returned to practice in the final few days of the 2023-24 campaign, and has now told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that he’s completed his recovery from surgery and expects to be medically cleared to play by team doctors upon arriving for training camp.
Hall, 32, was expected to be Connor Bedard’s primary wingman in the first-overall pick’s rookie season. It’s easy to see why they targeted the veteran, who won the Hart Trophy with the Devils in 2018 and was just one year removed from a 20-goal, 61-point season at the time of his acquisition. He also came at a substantial $6M cap hit, one that the Bruins needed to get rid of to increase their spending flexibility and one Chicago needed to help them hit the cap floor. But while he fulfilled the latter objective, his on-ice impact was negligible at best, posting just four points and a -3 rating in 10 games before exiting the lineup entirely.
Uncertainty about how Hall may perform coming off knee surgery directly influenced the Blackhawks’ offseason plans. After signing the slightly younger Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen in free agency, Hall will likely be relegated to a second-line or even third-line role as he returns to the Chicago lineup. But if he’s needed to take on extra minutes, the 2010 first-overall pick “intends to come back hungry” after missing so much time, he tells Pope.
“I’m trying to take some rest breaks here and there because I’ve been working out and rehabbing for eight months now,” Hall said. “You want to plateau — you want to be at your best — when training camp starts, and you don’t want to be fatigued from working out all summer. I’m playing around with that. But, in general, it feels like a normal offseason for me.”
Notably, Pope says Hall has still yet to participate in any full-contact drills, but that’s expected to come with his clearance.
A solid rebound campaign from Hall, a pending UFA, likely has more value for Chicago in trade talks than it does in the standings table. The Blackhawks can comfortably retain up to 50% of his salary, making him a $3M acquisition for an acquiring team, and his trade protection is limited to a 10-team no-trade list. Hall, who’s only made the playoffs five times in his 14 NHL seasons, would likely welcome a trade to any postseason contender.
